Audit The Fed: HR 459

A victory for Ron Paul

Requiring an audit of the United States of America’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, passed the House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon by a 327-98 vote.

Mitt Romney wrote about Paul on his official Twitter page.”Ron Paul’s ‘Audit The Fed’ bill is a reminder of his tireless efforts to promote sound money and a more transparent Federal Reserve.”

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), saw reason to support the bill stating. “The Fed creates trillions of dollars out of nothing and gives it to banks,” Rep. Kucinich said before Wednesday’s vote. “Congress is in the dark. The Fed sets the stage for the subprime meltdown. Congress is in the dark. The Fed takes a dive on LIBOR. Congress is in the dark. The Fed doesn’t tell regulators what is going on. Congress is in the dark.”

“It is time for us to bring the Fed into the sunshine of accountability,” the democratic congressman continued.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) was one of those opposed to the bill, saying that passing it “increases the likelihood that the Fed will make decisions based on political rather than economic considerations, and that is not a recipe for sound monetary policy.”

Ben Bernanke, US Federal Reserve chairman, said that, the Fed is “quite transparent and accountable on monetary policy,” but there was room for improvement. To the House Financial Service Committee a week ago, Bernanke told the agency it still “needs to be transparent and it needs to be accountable.”

Wednesday’s vote was a huge victory for Congressman Ron Paul’s efforts to bring added transparency to the Fed. The fight for a federal reserve audit doesn’t end here. Current projections do not anticipate the bill passing the Senate and even if it does, it must then meet the desk of President Obama.

Rep. Paul is still vying for the GOP Presidential nomination and he is expected to speak at the Republican National Convention in Florida next month. Although Paul refuses to endorse presumptive party nominee Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has supported Ron Paul, the Texas Congressman’s proposal to Audit the Fed.